Braddock-Washington Monument - Middletown, MD
N 39° 25.541 W 077° 30.341
18S E 284321 N 4367012
In March of 2009, this locally famous monument was moved to a more accessible location along the National Road - Route 40. This is the third location for this monument, its second move.
Waymark Code: WMH60Z
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 05/28/2013
Views: 6
Braddock and his troops marched up what is now Old National Pike on their way to Fort Duquesne in present-day Pittsburgh. This monument was erected for that march through Frederick County, now standing along the road, which is today a busy commuter route., looking over much different as it once did in Colonial times.
Today, the monument is at a bend in the road, protected by a guard rail. There is plenty of parking available at an extra wide shoulder prepared for visitors. The monument is on the left or west side of the road if traveling westbound on the National Highway. I discovered this monument while traveling to Antietam national Battlefield. This part of Route 40 is littered with many interesting and historical sites, this being but one of them.
The memorial was proposed in 1913 and the Frederick Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution sponsored lectures and card parties,and purchased a Liberty bond, eventually raising $754.54, for the erection of the memorial. The boulder from Braddock Mountain was placed by the Grove Lime Company. In 1952, the piece was moved because of road construction and so it would be closer to the spring from which Braddock and Washington drank. The sculpture had been vandalized in the past. The monument was finally erected in 1924 by the Frederick Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. In August of 2009 the boulder was moved about 1/2 mile west to the old scenic overlook on the western slope of Braddock Heights overlooking Middletown Valley. The new spot is more visible and more accessible to visitors.
The SIRIS site (citation below) describes the monument as a relief sculpture affixed to a boulder depicts General Edward Braddock and his aide, Lieutenant Colonel George Washington on a site near this marker in 1755. A third man kneels behind Braddock. All are wearing military uniforms. Washington is seen in profile on the left, drinking from a spring. The art nouveau typefaced inscription reads: This boulder marks the National Trail over which traveled Gen. Edward Braddock and Lieutenant Colonel George Washington 1755.. The relief plaque is bronze and the monument is made of stone. There is a small rededication plaque beneath the original plaque which reads General Braddock Monument rededicated October 11, 2009; Frederick Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. The monument was sculpted by Edward Berge (1876-1924), and the Grove Lime Company were contracted for the stone monument. The artist's name appears underneath the relief of Braddock.
1.
SIRIS
2. Historical Marker Database
3. Frederick News Post